Agreed, but then the question becomes how to define/ account for long term. The sustainable purpose definition suggests this includes the future social needs and nature’s limits the business needs to operate within to be viable and deliver long term value
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What these companies do not realise is that the long term well being of the planet = the long term well being of their own companies.
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Thanks @Tasneem - I think there are some key similarities differences between sustainable business and purpose.
They are both very powerful tools to build trust both internally and with external stakeholders.
They can both provide a framework for ‘better’ decision making.
And they can both define how a business can create value in the longer term in a way that takes account of global challenges and the need for businesses to make a contribution to wider society beyond profit (taxes and employment).
The differences, as we see them focus around the fact that Purpose tends to be led by the CEO and ExCo and therefore have the potential to be owned by the entire business.
Purpose defines an organisation’s reason for being and therefore should impact the creation and execution of the organisation’s strategy, operations and perspective – in a way a sustainability strategy does not as it often tends to focus on certain areas of areas of greatest risk e.g. supply chain, health and safety, environment, or certain elements of a business.
It is relevant to the entire organisation and everyone who works in it and act as a north or guiding star in a way that a sustainability strategy may struggle to (as it often focuses on more technical /specific areas) and therefore it can engage, motivate and inspire the entire workforce and beyond.
It enables everyone to determine how they are personally going to contributeto the organisation’s success (whereas a sustainability strategy tends to engage those teams that are most relevant to a particular goal or target) in a way that is relevant to their role, in their part of the organisation, and that is aligned with their personal values and beliefs.
Hope that helps.
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Good point - think B-Corp is a start. but when will we have a real-time and holistic view of a corporations impacts on the SDGs, good and bad. Like a Bloomberg for Good 
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Wow. It sounds like we opened a pandora box with the 1st question. Now let’s get to the hot topic. Agree with you @WillG about the risk of creating cynicism about purpose, so my second question to all of you is: What turns “purpose” into “purpose-washing”?
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Thanks Ben, I really like that definition.
One of the dangers of Purpose is when it is used to draw attention away from the negative impacts a company is making. ‘Look over here!’ So I like the addition of ‘benefits society, in a way that sustains the social and environmental systems we rely upon’.
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Agreed, for example, all too often ‘sustainability ‘ is seen as environmental when if fact it’s connected to social justice. Hence why definitions are so important. Purpose is even more undefined, hence businesses are wide open to purpose-wash
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A2: 
. Heating up!! I think simply when one fails to put their actions where their words are.
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Super helpful and articulate. Thank you!
I agree. It is fundamental to be viable and deliver long term value.
A2: What turns Purpose into “Purpose Washing”?
CEOs or Boards realising that they’re behind the curve on this agenda and needing catch up, think they can fast track their journey by giving the task to the marketing or PR department. A fancy tagline and bold statements will follow, but they will be skin deep and the cracks of misalignment between words and deeds/policies/products etc will soon appear.
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Love this idea! We need more measurement that unifies and makes it easy for people to understand if what the business says is actual real and make a real impact.
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Agree @WillG - the one thing that tends to get overlooked when focusing soley on purpose, and purpose definitions is the fundamental need for those same businesses to operate responsibly, ethically and do so transparently.
Welcome Tula! Yes agree. Purpose must be long term ideally. But how can you do something longterm when shareholders expect quarterly updates on performances for publicly listed company?
Classic purpose washing is either ignoring implications for the core business or, for me, not locating the businesses contribution to society, let alone global challenges. It also needs to consider its entire value chain. By doing so also highlights the all important opportunities & unmet needs out there, as well as mitigation of negative impacts.
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exactly - as opposed to reporting performance through the rearward facing lens of annual reports which focus too much on the financials and sanitize out any bad news
totally agree @gibbulloch - nothing changes but it looks good in the annual report! Purpose takes time to create and even longer to embed.
The obvious one is when purpose is used in marketing and communications but when you speak to the Board or the CEO you get a different message.
And to deep dive a bit more, I think that’s the missing gap between the solid programs you put in place to act on your purpose (not just the easy ones - but especially the ones that require you to really look long term and possibly to prevent the need of acting upon certain issues in the first place), and all the eagerness of screaming to the world what your purpose is. If you scream and that’s is then there’s a clear “and so what” answer.
On my flight this morning I read this: “greenwashing won’t wash any more, because transparency is the goal, not token initiatives”. 
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